Wilton’s Music Hall awarded £1.8m HLF grant to secure its future

Wilton’s Music Hall in east London has been given a grant of £1.85 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which marks the final step in its fundraising campaign to preserve the venue.

The grant means work can now begin on the grade-II listed building to complete the second part of its restoration project, which will secure its future.

This will include repairing the five Georgian houses that contain the front of house areas and the Mahogany Bar.

There are also plans to restore the derelict top floor for use as a new participation and learning studio and archive, and also to increase access to the building for disabled users.

The 19th century venue has already carried out the first £1.1 million phase of its capital project, which involved restoring its grand hall by fitting a new roof, ventilation equipment, and improving heating, sound-proofing and electrics.

Once the entire project has been completed, the arts centre plans to introduce a new programme of participation and learning, focussing on the heritage of Wilton’s and the surrounding area.

The venue announced earlier this week that it had raised £600,000 in match funding that it needed to bid for the HLF grant.

Frances Mayhew, Wilton’s artistic director, said: “Without the support of major funders like HLF, charities like ours would take years to raise these kinds of monies. We’ve been incredibly lucky with the support we’ve received from other sources, like Viridor Credits, Garfield Weston and Aldgate and Allhallows, but this decision means that we can finally take the permanent steps needed to stop this much-loved building from falling down.”